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14 THE SENIOR TRAVELLER September, 2008 www.thesenior.com.au THIS is an auspicious street. Within 100 metres of each other are the homes where two Nobel Peace Prize winners lived. School has just finished for the day and the smartly uni- formed students mill in the street, talking about the day's events. On the corner near a simple shop, a group of teenagers busk in the warm sun, singing and swaying to African rhythms. Eager street vendors display their colourful wares to the passing visitors. The colour on the walls of the homes is slightly faded by the haze, but the dulling light is strong enough to read the words on a memorial. This is Soweto -- the black township on the outskirts of Johannesburg where the sins of white supremacy and the power of resistance have left a deeply scarred legacy which is the foundation of modern life for more than 2.5 million South African residents. Today's Soweto is shaped by the hideous events of the last century, but nourished by the hope and determination that prevails in this millennium. Like any massive, sprawling suburb, Soweto has its good and bad parts. There are hundreds of thou- sands of modest homes, referred to as 'matchbox' homes, and there are larger more affluent homes with gardens, lawns and paved driveways. But mostly the homes are poor -- very poor. Many pockets of abject poverty still exist where elec- tricity and running water are looked upon as something befit- ting a dream home. Soweto is divided into 26 sec- tions or suburbs. One suburb is Orlando, where a new multi-million doll- ar shopping mall has opened. The familiar neon logos of Woolworths, Pick 'N' Pay and Shoprite blaze from the build- ing like a beacon. Looking at the mall from the wide road which links Pretoria to Johannesburg, it's as homogenised as Chatswood or Chadstone. The juxtaposition of its form against a background of pover- ty is not what you expect to see in Soweto. Opposite the shopping centre, unemployed tradespeople set up shop on the gravel verges in makeshift workshops or salons. Panelbeaters, hairdressers, butchers and motor mechanics vie for precious retail space on the street in the shadow of a disused power station, the fun- nels of which are adorned with murals celebrating black South Africa's most famous son, Nelson Mandela. On Vilakazi Street, just a peace prize throw from Desmond Tutu's original home, is a nondescript two-bedroom, brown brick home where Mandela lived prior to his 27- year imprisonment. The home is simple and enclosed behind an unwelcom- ing metal fence. Its dull grey form sits under a small shading tree. The home's simplicity is the deep-rooted symbol of greatness and astonishing achievement. While Soweto's Mandela stands as the icon of peace and progress, Hector Pieterson is remembered as the unwitting and tragic figure of resistance demonstrated in the Soweto uprisings of 1976. Killed by police gunfire when assembled in protest to the imposition of the Afrikaans language in schools, Pieterson's bloody death was the catalyst for weeks of tragic unrest characterised by hun- dreds of deaths. But it led to a new era of freedom. He was 13. His short life is celebrated in The Hector Pieterson Museum in West Orlando, Soweto. It is a moving, chilling and poignant reminder of the Soweto Uprisings. Graphic images, compelling archive footage and walls of humbling text perpetuate the legacy his death has left. There is no more horrendous image than that of a mother carrying her slain child in her arms. Evelyn is a woman in her 40s who proudly lives in the poorest part of Soweto, in a two-room house no larger than a small caravan. She shares the house with her four teenage children. There is no electricity, no water or sanitation, but she has a broad smile. She demonstrates her paraf- fin stove and how she prepares the meals served at the table, which has only four chairs, in the centre of the main room. "When the meal is finished the children do their homework here," she says. Inside Evelyn's home is a collection of basic furniture -- one bed, a mattress and the table. There is also a wheelbarrow and tin hipbath hanging from the wall next to a towel. She willingly opens her house to visitors. And although she doesn't ask for anything, she survives on the few rand left by tourists. When asked if she likes living in Soweto her response is a definite, "Oh yes, I have everything here". Soweto is a city of symbols and symbolism. Landmark homes where Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu lived and still visit, sites where the lives of children like Hector Pieterson and Hastings Ndlovu were sacrificed, and streets such as Vilakazi, which gently reflect an ignominious chapter of history are the statement of Soweto's beginnings. Evelyn's smile, the bright new shopping mall and the resi- dents' willingness to share the neighbourhood with white visi- tors are the symbols and char- acteristics of today's Soweto. OPEN HOUSE -- Evelyn greets visitors with a ready smile. KEVIN MOLONEY finds hope in the black township of Soweto. 8 DAY MILDURA COUNTRY MUSIC 29th Sept-6th Oct 2008 from $865pp 6 DAY KANGAROO ISLAND TOUR 13th-18th Oct 2008 from $895pp 5 DAY GIPPSLAND 20th-24th Oct 2008 from $495pp 12 DAY TASMANIA 3rd Mar 2009 from $2595pp SUN PRINCESS CRUISE 28 DAYS AROUND AUSTRALIA 20th Nov 2008 from $6175pp Escorted by Neil Smart and departing Warrnambool, Geelong & Melbourne 10 DAY TAMWORTH COUNTRY MUSIC 17 to 26 Jan 2009 from $995 17 DAY NEW ZEALAND 15th Mar 2009 from $3795pp NORFOLK ISLAND 2009 15th & 22nd May 2009 from $2695pp SENIOR COACH TOURS Please phone for Itinerary or visit our Website FREE CALL 1800 112 399 Email: team@smarttours.com.au SMART TOURS & TRAVEL www.smarttours.com.au LTA 32551 1849589 TRAVELRITE INTERNATIONAL www.travelrite.com.au 1800 033 436 heathmont@travelrite.com.au ABN 64 005 817 078 Licence No 30858 For brochure contact: JOHN HOWIE MusicTours JOHN HOWIE MusicTours PTY LTD 11 A g. to 14 Sept. 2 9 USA 31 Ma to 16 J ne 2 9 17 April to 1 Ma 2 9 Scotland & Ireland Edinburgh, Inverness, Orkney, Ullapool, Isle of Skye, Fort William, Glasgo , Dublin, Belfast, Londonderry, Omagh, Donegal, Westport, Gal ay, Killarney, Cork, Waterford. Extension to London & Paris also available LA, Las Vegas, Ne Orleans, Lafayette, Memphis, Branson, Nashville. (including CMA Festival /Fan Fair). visiting Mildura, Broken Hill, White Cliffs, Tibooburra, Innamincka, Birdsville, Marree, Flinders Ranges, The Barossa Valley and Adelaide. 16 DAY TOUR Outback Outback Music Tour Fantastic sights b da ! Wonderf l m sic b night!